The U.S. state of Oregon could source as much as 10 percent of its electricity requirements from solar energy by 2027 according to a recently unveiled blueprint.
Oregon, with a population of around 4 million, currently has 226 megawatts of solar installed, enough to provide for the electricity requirements of 25,000 homes.
Nearly 50 percent of the electricity consumed in Oregon is produced from fossil fuels, and solar power contributes less than one percent. This doesn’t sit well with many Oregonians, who are well known for their progressive nature.
On a per capita basis (~56.5 solar watts person), it’s a long way behind Australia, which boasts approximately 225W per person – and that’s just in small-scale solar power system capacity. In Oregon, more than half of current installed capacity is utility-scale (155MW), 54MW is residential and 55MW is commercial solar.
The huge per capita difference may not always be the case. Early this week, the Oregon Solar Energy Industries Association (OSEIA) released its Oregon Solar Plan, developed in partnership with Lewis and Clark Law School’s Green Energy Institute.
If realised, the plan would see enough solar capacity installed to power the equivalent of 500,000 Oregon homes. That would be 20 times the current level, which would mean around 4.5GW of capacity. This works out to 972 watts per person – assuming population growth of 1.5% per year out to 2027.
“An energy transition is underway and solar will be a big part of Oregon’s energy future,” said Laurie Hutchinson, OSEIA’s board president. “The Oregon Solar Plan offers an ambitious but reasonable way to achieve that future.”
Working towards this goal would also create a jobs bonanza for the sector, growing from the current level of 4,500 workers to as many as 8,000 by 2027.
The Oregon Solar Plan can be downloaded here (PDF).
Will Australia find itself in a position of having some catching up to do? Perhaps not – in 2015, Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecast solar capacity in Australia (all PV types) could be above 80 GW by 2027. Based on similar population growth rates, this would translate to 2,821 watts per person.
